Hagar

Last week, 17-year-old Lawrence Poirier told his best friend, Michael Patterson, that he was gay. Similar scenes take place regularly these days -- but not in Lawrence's neighborhood.Lawrence lives on more than 1,400 comics pages nationwide in Lynn Johnston's "For Better or For Worse." His immediate neighbors often include "Marmaduke," "Doonesbury" and mucho macho "Rex Morgan, M.D."In "For Better or For Worse," he lives near Elly and John Patterson and their three children, Michael, Lizzie and April.

Rosh Hashana begins at sundown today, ushering in the year 5762 on the Jewish calendar and the beginning of 10 days commonly known as the Days of Awe. It's a period of celebration and introspection, a time to consider the promise of new beginnings and the meanings of events gone by, culminating in Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, starting at sundown Sept. 26. With the trumpeting of the shofar this evening, Jews will be called to synagogue for the first of two prayer services consisting in part of readings from the Torah -- the first five books of the Old Testament.

Just announced Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will play the MCI Center in Washington Aug. 10. Call 410-481-SEAT. Toby Keith brings his "Unleashed" tour to Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Va., Sept. 14. Also on the bill are Rascal Flatts and Paul Thorn. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. Call 410-481-SEAT. Jay-Z, 311, Hoobastank, N.E.R.D., Nappy Roots and others take the stage at Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Va., Aug. 23. Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 11 a.m. Call 410-481-SEAT.

MUSIC HE'S GOT IT ALL Country comes to the city Saturday when Kenny Chesney's Poets and Pirates tour stops at M&T Bank Stadium. The show will feature songs from his latest album, Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates, which is his 13th. Also slated to perform are Brooks & Dunn, LeAnn Rimes, Big & Rich, Gary Allan, Cowboy Troy and Sammy Hagar. .................... The show is at 2:30 p.m. M&T Bank Stadium is at 1101 Russell St. Tickets are $49-$99.50. Call 410-547-7328 or go to ticket master.

BASEBALL American League * California Angels -- Activated Junior Felix (outfielder) from the 15-day disabled list. Placed Bob McClure (pitcher) on waivers for the purpose of giving him his unconditional release.* Cleveland Indians -- Activated Sandy Alomar Jr. (catcher) from the 15-day disabled list. Placed Eric King (pitcher) on the 15-day disabled list.* New York Yankees -- Purchased the contract of Scott Kamieniecki (pitcher) from Columbus of the International League. Optioned Chuck Cary (pitcher)

There was an announcement, then a little guitar playing and a promise of a whole lot more as officials from Towson University held a mid-morning news conference yesterday at Baltimore's Hard Rock Cafe in the Inner Harbor to release details of its World Guitar Congress, set for June 2-9. Towson says it has so far signed on nearly 50 professional guitarists from genres as diverse as jazz, flamenco, blues, rock and classical for the Guitar Congress, a...

Mount Airy's town council voted to meet in closed session last night with members of the Village of Town Oaks homeowners' association and a town attorney to discuss problems the group has had with developer Jim Frey of Frall Development.Council members said they would hold a closed meeting after last night's regular session.In a three-page, single-spaced statement, Laurie Hagar, representing the homeowners, last night during the open session gave the council information supporting the association's stance on the problems.

WE HAVE HEARD a good deal of talk in recent days about the time-tested truths of the Bible in which the life of this country is purportedly grounded. I would not want to shake the faith of those who hold that belief. But as someone who has spent the last few years contending with the original text of the Hebrew Bible word by weighted word, my own conclusion is that biblical truths are more various, more complex and more interesting than our popular preconceptions of them. Translating the Bible has been a compelling activity for me, one that has made me see the boldness and the power of the ancient Hebrew with fresh eyes.

What a difference five years -- and a recession -- make. When financial planners were asked in 2004 for the most frequent questions from clients, the queries were largely about investing in real estate, how big of a mortgage they could swing and whether to buy or lease a car. The real estate market has since imploded, and many homeowners and would-be real estate moguls are underwater on mortgages. And the government is now giving money away to get consumers to buy or lease new cars to rescue the auto industry.

For the last 10 years, there have been basically two kinds of Van Halen fans. There were the Hagarites, who believed that the band changed for the better when singer Sammy Hagar joined the fold; and there were the Rothophiles, who insisted that much of Van Halen's soul walked away with original singer David Lee Roth.Now, the band has a yet another singer, former Extreme front man Gary Cherone. And after listening to the band's new album, "III" (Warner Bros. 46662, arriving in stores today)